Executives and Money Issues

One of the biggest obstacles to executives becoming employed is their attitude about money. It isn’t surprising that money is the center of existence for many executives. After all, they went into business, not social work. When I was growing up, our old Monsignor said to me “John, the most sensitive part of the human anatomy is the wallet. You can grab a man by the privates and he won’t scream as loud as if you grab him by the wallet.” Father Schmidt, may he rest in peace, was so right!
However, as with most things that we hold near and dear, money can also be the source of our derailment as executives. The problems here are numerous. It is time for some tough talk around money issues and where executives are on this most sensitive part of their anatomy.

1). Fear. There was a billionaire in Paris who, in this recent financial crisis, lost about 1/3rd of his billions. He committed suicide because he was financially ruined. Now, before you laugh and point too hard, I’ve seen executive after executive get to almost the same point when, really, very little of their income has been reduced.
As an example, our fee to help executives, with an incredible success rate, is less than a month’s salary. Considering that our folks average about $220K per annum, plus bonuses, it is substantially less than a month’s salary.
And, consider that a fee for an executive coach is an investment in one’s main channel of income…to increase it dramatically. Yet you’d think with some folks that I was asking them to empty their bank accounts, take off their Rolex, and hand me the keys to the Mercedes!
Many of our executives bitch and gripe about paying for parking at some of the events. Or paying $350.00 to join an association to meet other executives. Or buying a few new suits. Or even a very good haircut (we have someone to whom we send our executives to fix their hair).
Executives are cheap, cheap, cheap, in many instances. Yes, this probably means you! This attitude of paying the least possible for things to support and assist your career search, simply because you are temporarily without income, is very counterproductive.
But the executives are often nowhere near as cheap as their spouses, especially the wives (although I certainly know a few very cheap hubbies!). The thought of {{{gasp!}}} paying money to help to get a $250K a year job much more rapidly sends them into an anxiety attack. This is also incredibly counterproductive.

2). Misunderestimating. Sorry, folks, couldn’t resist. The fact is that when executives look at their bank accounts, they see a yawning chasm where there might be Mt. Everest. Until recently, Bill Gates could never see that he had enough. He was consistently panicked about making more and more and more and more money. This is a pathology. It is also a black hole. All the money in the world will not make someone internally insecure into someone secure. All this talk about “financial security” is so much hooey. What is often going on is a need to be in control of all situations. As this is impossible on this plane of existence, no amount of money is ever going to be enough.
What has to happen is to look at one’s “burn rate.” From the burn rate, calculate how many months you are able to exist. Then ask what you can do to reduce the burn rate. Do you really need that cruise? I’ve seen people balk at spending money on the things that will get them a new job, but spend money on a new car, a vacation, an expensive present, and so on. Reduce the burn rate as much as possible!
Then look at what to spend money and time on that will reduce the amount of time that you will be looking for a job. This might be a transition coach, group and association fees, clothing, travel to a city you want to move to, etc. Get your priorities straight! A new car is not as important as a fee to a major networking group that will put you into contact with other top executives and people in your community immediately. Yes, a new car might make you feel better about yourself, but is your three year old Mercedes really ready to be put out to pasture?

3). Stretch your money. Do some intelligent things with your money. You might consider moving into some safer investments for a time. You might consider putting the extra home up for sale. What about simply garaging the third car and taking it off of insurance for a while until you’re re-employed. How about a very temporary consulting assignment in November, December, and late June through mid-September when executive hiring is at a “low” anyway? Howsabout cutting back on some of the kids’ activities? (It is good for the kids to feel the cold hand of reality sometimes, too.) Does your spouse really need to go to the spa every week? And so on.
This blog is written to upper management and executives. If you’re not one of these folks and reading this anyway, you probably think I’m being pretty nasty and exaggerating. I’m not. This is the way these folks live. (I don’t, and even most of my clients don’t, but a large enough proportion of them do, that I know whereof I speak!) Those of you who do live this way…you look really silly to the rest of the nation who would love to have your problems right now. Which brings me to…

4). Get real about your situation in life. You wife is sobbing because you have to put the country club membership on hold for a few months. Well, brother, the wife of one of the people who you passed in the hall every day at Lehman Brothers is crying because she can’t pay the mortgage on their three bedroom, modest home, and the cable has been turned off, and there isn’t enough food in the fridge to feed the family. Grow up! Get real about your situation. Many of you are not in any real trouble. Yes, your lifestyle isn’t going to be the same. But you, too, were part of the problem that led to this. (For whom did you vote in previous elections? What belief systems do you have about the economy? What decisions did you make at your company that contributed to the current economic crisis? We’re all in this together, folks, including me.)
So, get real about money. Even your “broke” is not truly broke. You can still pay the mortgage, keep the heat on, put food in the fridge, etc., even if it means tapping your IRAs and investments. Some very hard working and good people don’t have IRAs and investments to tap, can’t pay for the simple necessities of life, and had almost nothing to do with the current crisis (whereas we all did at our levels). Frankly, I’m surprised these people are not rioting in the streets, pulling us out of our homes and taking them over. This is what would happen in these situations in most other countries. It speaks to the quality of Americans that they haven’t done so…yet.

5). Greed. Greed (and stupidity) is what brought us to the current economic crisis. Greed isn’t going to get us out of it. Be real about what salary and benefits you’re going to be making. Don’t try to hold up an employer for more than the market will bear. Don’t try to hang on to all your money. Dip into the IRAs if necessary, and liquidate the investments. Hey, given the volatility of the market, you might be glad you did!

Here’s the bottom line. Now is the time to stop collecting and hoarding and spend a bit to get going on your job search. Don’t be stingy or greedy. Don’t hold out for every penny you can make. And don’t hold on to every inch of your lifestyle. This might be your wake-up call from the Universe. Get real about your money!